Dec. 2010 Page 1 of 5 HAPPY CHRISTMAS TO ALL! Once again the end of the year is very near and thoughts are on the things planned before Christmas and then of course Christmas Day itself. Although there can be a lot of busyness on the day, it is a great celebration of which we can all be thankful. Many thanks to all of you who have sent cards and Season s Greetings. We in turn wish all our readers and their families a safe and joyous Christmas. 2010 We feel especially thankful reflecting back on the year and knowing that we have had great customer support. It has been a pleasure to serve you throughout the year and we have enjoyed getting to know our customers who visit the shop, many from Interstate and Overseas and those we have come to know through mail orders. During the last few months Adrian has been busy in the workshop building more display units for the shop so we can display more of Rhonda s hidden treasures. So next year we hope to have more for you to see. S.S. COURIER The latest plan to leave the drawing board is one of the classic steamers of Port Phillip Bay. Built in England in 1887 this smart twin funnel steamer offered a regular passenger service between Melbourne and Geelong. She served her owners Huddart Parker from 1888 to 1927 and was built on dimensions of 231.8 x 30 x 12.6 ft. By all accounts she was a most luxurious vessel incorporating the finest comforts of her day and as a result was very popular with the travelling public. When her useful life was over she was stripped to a hulk and towed to the ships graveyard outside Port Phillip Heads where she rests to this day. The drawings are at 1:48 scale and include all lines and general arrangements. The two sheet set SP-508A & SP-508B sells for $55.00. HOLIDAY BREAK As is our usual custom, Float-a-Boat will be closed between Christmas and New Year. We will close at midday on Christmas eve and re-open on Tuesday 4th January.
Page 2 of 5 1:32 SCALE FIGURES As mentioned in previous newsletters, we are always on the lookout for good maritime figures to add to our collection. We are disappointed with so much being offered at the moment as many are poorly proportioned and badly modelled. But occasionally some little gems appear and we grab them with both hands. As many of you know the kit manufacturer Italeri have some good sets of figures for their German S-Boat kit and the US Torpedo boat all at 1:35th scale. Adding to this scale we have a small range of British sailors which could be useful to those of you modelling the Vospers and the Thornycrofts. There are currently five in the series but they can be varied as most come with two different heads, helmet or cap, and the arms can be moved to different positions. They are beautifully hand cast in light weight resin and come in simple kit form ready for easy assembly and painting. A selection of examples appears below. RHONDA S BURIED TREASURE This is our second instalment of Rhonda s Bits-n-Pieces which no-one except her seems to know about! We have found a few more treasures in boxes under the counter so here goes.. BRASS BLACKENER This is one of the obscure items which can be difficult to source and yet is often required. This solution is very useful for converting bright metals to a blackened state making many fittings much more realistic and closer to full size appearance. All brass fittings such as chain, cannon, bollards, fairleads and davits etc. can all benefit from this treatment. Price per bottle is $7.00 DRILLING TINY HOLES As part of our extensive range of modelling tools the range of high quality tiny twist drills is something regularly requested. We stock the American numbered drills from 51 to 80, either in sets but also as separate items. We also have a range of fine metric sizes from 0.30 to 1.50mm. Individual drills cost $2.20 each and the packed sets in dispensers cost $16.50. Metric drills come only as individual items - not as sets. We also carry the pinvises to suit these fine bits.
MODEL MARITIME NEWS YACHT SAILS Page 3 of 5 As many of you know, Float-a-Boat was one of the original model yachting supply businesses in Australia. We have still maintained one of the most comprehensive stock for the competition and fun sailor but we don t advertise this as once we did. Along with our large range of hull and rig fittings we can supply everything that the sail maker requires to manufacture his own sails as well as a stock of ready made sails. We used to produce our own sails in-house and achieved many competition successes, but time constraints has now forced us to outsource this product. Our sails are now made for us in the U.K. by one of the world s most respected sail makers and an ex World and European champion. Prices are the best you will find anywhere. Our normal stock line is for IOM, Marblehead and Micro Magic upgrade sails. Any custom sails can be made if a sail plan is provided. For those in the neighbourhood, please drop in and check them out in our new Sail Locker. REAL WOODEN KITS We get many requests from our customers wanting to construct radio control models using timber. This is becoming increasingly difficult as most manufactures produce their kits with vac - formed plastic or fibreglass hulls. However, there are a few good kits which meets this criteria. The old 1960 Aerokits are being re-issued in updated formats and the large Sea Queen is a good popular model. Other models are soon to follow. There is also a good small range of timber kits for R/C manufactures by Aero-Naut of Germany. At the moment we have three of these boats in stock - Sports Classic and Queen at about 2ft length and the larger Diva at about 3ft. A new model has been released called Princess and we will be stocking this in the new year. The kits are very simple to put together with only very basic woodwork skills required. Remember they are REAL WOOD and can be finished in the most classic style. Prices vary from $120.00 to $427.00.
CUSTOMER S MODELS - QE2 The QE2 has always been one of those ships that has caught the imagination of people young and old. To undertake building a model of it would always be a big task but when that model is three metres in length there are often some challenges along the way. Nigel Allom from the Lake Illawong Model Boat Group at Patterson s Lakes, Victoria has had three attempts at building this model, mainly due to the lack of published information when he first began. Like many vessels, the QE2 had several refits over the years. Nigel has chosen the Post Falklands War period for his model. His first attempt at building the model was in 1974. He began the work in the attic of his parent s house and when the time came for it s first float test, the plan was to lower it vertically through the manhole. He found that the angle did not allow it, so his father decided to move some of the supporting roof beams to alter the angle. This still did not provide enough manoeuvring space so his father then suggested removing the upper boards from the rear Gable. He then passed the hull to Nigel who was standing precariously on the adjacent roof. From there it went onto a pergola and then Nigel finally lowered to the ground... 4 ½ hours later the job was done! A second attempt to continue the building the model was made in the mid 1980 s when Nigel was living in Sydney. The third and more successful attempt began in 1994. At that time the full size ship was in Melbourne as part of a World Cruise. In those days one could walk along Station Pier and actually touch the Ship, an experience we do not know today. This, along with the fact that more information became available about detailing of the vessel, spurred him on to complete her with a great deal more success. 1997 saw the christening and the maiden voyage of the model at the Surrey Park Model Boat Club Lake at Box Hill, Victoria. After a few minutes of sailing, it Page 4 of 5 became tangled in the weeds in the middle of the lake and promptly lost one of the 80mm propellers. An expensive experience...! Because the vessel is so large and awkward to manoeuvre, and it always seems to do something you do not want it to do, Nigel refers to it as Madam. In 2008 Nigel noticed that it was looking faded and tatty, much like a real ship does over a period of time at sea. He then felt that it was time that the model had a major overhaul and refit. Before he started this project, he fulfilled his dream of holidaying overseas. During this eleven month break he included a trip on both the QE2 and the QM2. This, of course, only furthered his desire to bring the model up to a better standard again. Soon after his arrival home he started work again in March 2009 and has enthusiastically set about renovating the model and expects to have it fully complete in 2011. We would like to thank Nigel for allowing us to overview this mammoth task which has been ongoing for 34 years. Modelling is rarely a fast job but the end result, more often than not, is most rewarding. The Technical Bits... The model is 3 metres (10 feet long), by 41cm (16 wide), by 67cm (26 high). When empty it weighs 25Kg and when ballasted to it s water line displaces 80Kg. A large part to the ballast is 5 x 12 Volt batteries which power two old PMG electric motors with direct drive to the shafts. The vessel is operated with four channel R/C - One channel per electric motor, one channel for steering and one channel for the ship s sirens. Nigel has had a custom trailer built to contain four large models, as when he builds, he builds big! Check out pictures of the model on the next page.
MODEL MARITIME NEWS Page 5 of 5